Tauber Institute alumni bring their operations expertise to leadership roles in a wide variety of fields, all over the globe. Read about what some of our alumni are doing today, and learn about the impact their Tauber experience has had on their career paths.
EGL BSE/MSE-IOE '14
Chief Operations Officer
Botrista Technology Inc.
Christopher Stevens' Tauber team project for Cisco Systems tied for first place in the SPOTLIGHT! 2013 Team Project Showcase and Scholarship Competition. Christopher and his teammates Benjamin Ranta (MBA/MSE IOE ‘15) and Robert Rogers (MBA ‘14) traveled to Malaysia to assist in the rapid launch and delivery of two new strategic products. The team accelerated the mass production ramp-up by increasing manufacturing throughput by 50% and was able to identify bottlenecks and implemented solutions, increasing throughput by 33% and future revenue by $4M.
After graduation, Christopher joined Cisco Systems supply chain network management, then made a move to Google, and now is COO of Botrista Technology Inc. Botrista provides beverage solutions to foodservice operators that allow them to add mini-cafes to their menus while avoiding prohibitive operational complexities.
What’s the most important thing to remember in business?
So much of business is trying to make sure that at once you're keeping in mind all of the little things that when summed up create the positive outcome you're driving for. There are tons of frameworks proclaiming to have the "most important principles (etc)" - and they are certainly helpful aids, but invariably staying flexible and making sure you understand and drive all the right details is the most important on a case-by-case basis.
What advice do you have for current Tauber students?
Be patient with your careers and put yourself in your leaders’ shoes. On patience - I have found enormous value in jobs that sometimes at the time I didn't enjoy as much. I enjoy strategic and transformational work, but all my roles in those spaces have been preceded by more operational and tactical roles where I learned foundationally how the business operated. On putting yourself in your leaders’ shoes - nothing shows maturity and a readiness to operate at the next level than being able to understand what your leader is facing and how you can support the team's goals. As an example, I see a lot of great individual contributors who want to make the jump to manage teams - but do so by focusing on themselves and their own projects. While helpful, it doesn't really demonstrate an understanding of what your leadership is thinking about (which if they're good, is how to bring the whole team together to operate greater than any one individual in the team).
What has been your biggest challenge?
Achieving a self-actualization of what I really want out of a career and out of life. Just chasing the next promotion or a certain title won't bring me happiness or fulfillment - but it's a trap that I've fallen into a few times. Surrounding myself with people who I can grow with and speak more deeply about these questions has been a phenomenal change over my last few years.
Tauber alumni bring their operations expertise to leadership roles in a wide variety of fields, all over the globe. Read about what our alumni are doing today, and learn about the impact their Tauber experience has had on their career paths.